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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121066">And Then He Opened His Eyes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ace_Anon/pseuds/The_Ace_Anon'>The_Ace_Anon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>self-indulgent ahit/apop au [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Hat in Time (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Blood and Gore, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Physical Abuse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:15:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121066</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ace_Anon/pseuds/The_Ace_Anon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Close your eyes and you’ll leave this dream, I know that it’s hard to do”. -My Time by Bo En</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>The Prince/Queen Vanessa (A Hat in Time)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>self-indulgent ahit/apop au [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>And Then He Opened His Eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He remembers the ice, sparkling and beautiful, breaking through his chest, painted red with blood. He remembers a gasp forcing its way out of his mouth, a horrible horrified silence, screaming. He remembers someone breaking the ice, picking him up and setting him down on the floor. He remembers cries for a medic, remembers the ice melting, the blood spreading, forcing its way up and out of his mouth. He remembers the world blurring together, the colors mixing, someone taking his hand, an unnatural and unreal quiet blanketing the scene, a quiet green light. He remembers her smile. And then he opened his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s bright, pure white filling his vision. It’s quiet, pure quiet, too quiet. A perfect, soundless void. He looks down at his hands, stares at the colorless shapes lined with black. Almost like a sketch, waiting to be cleaned up and colored. He looks around, confused and scared, when he hears a quiet gasp behind him. He whips around and is greeted by someone tackling him in a hug. Vanessa is holding him, hugging him tightly, face happy and devoid of anger, just as colorless and sketchy as he is. He doesn’t question it, doesn’t let himself think about it, just hugs her back, lets himself be happy in this small moment. She tells him that she loves him, that she’s so happy he’s here, she doesn’t yell, doesn’t ask why he’s not still in the cellar, doesn’t hurt or freeze or slap or scream. She just holds him and tells him that she loves him as he is, not as her perfect prince, not as some idea he’ll never be, just as him. He’s perfect the way he is.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small part of him snaps at that, breaking and sending tears dripping down his cheeks. He holds her tighter. This is what he’s wished for, what he’s begged for on the cold nights where he cries himself to sleep, after the fights that leave his heart cracking and his body freezing, after the days where he just wants to collapse and leave his body for the crows. A part of his being whispers that this is too perfect, that something is wrong, that he needs to leave, don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you remember what she did, don’t you remember the ice and the screams and her smile-</span>
  </em>
  <span> He pushes it away. He wants one moment, just one, where everything is good and perfect, he doesn’t want to let go of it, he doesn’t want to let go of her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pulls away from him, beckons him forward, asks him if he wants to come with her, back to when things were good, before it all fell apart to rot and ruin. He does, desperately, he wants to go back to the good times, when they would sneak out of the castle, grab oranges and look up at the stars, when he could talk to her without feeling like his life was on the line, when he made her happy and wasn’t just a never-ending disappointment of something he could never be. He makes to follow her, to join her, when he’s jerked back. There’s a shadow wrapped around his arm. He tries to pull his arm out of its grip, but more rise up around him, sticking onto his skin and covering the bright. Vanessa’s smile falls, asks if he’s coming. He wants to, he tries to get away from the shadows, struggles and kicks, but more keep coming and the bright is quickly fading. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shadows grow, turning his form a bright beautiful gold. There’s a pain in his chest. He didn’t notice it before, but now it’s almost overwhelming, aches so badly that he can barely breath. He falls onto his knees, struggling to breath through the pain as the shadows continue to move. Something rises up his throat, into his mouth, he coughs and bright red comes out. He looks up at Vanessa, she blinks at him, smiles sadly, says </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe next time</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and steps away. And then she’s gone. And then he screams. The pain in his chest is a horrible, burning, freezing scream, but the pain of losing her is even worse. He was so close, so so close to happiness, to a world where Vanessa didn’t hate him, to a world where she didn’t send ice crashing through his chest or tear him away from everyone he loved or chain him up or hurt him or yell at him or freeze him, to a world where she loved him. He tries to rise, but a green thread joins the shadows, pulling him down to the floor and holding him there. He sobs, curls up as much as he can, his energy dripping away, the pain shaking his form. The light disappears, leaving him in quiet darkness. The string tightens, pulls him down and through the floor, the shadows loosen and</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then he opened his eyes.</span>
</p>
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